Thornburgh, Old Foe May Try For Senate

April 11, 1991|By Steve Daley and Christopher Drew, Chicago Tribune.

WASHINGTON — The unexpected death of Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.) has set the stage for a possible confrontation between two ambitious politicians who share a contentious past: Republican Atty. Gen. Dick Thornburgh and U.S. Rep. William H. Gray III, the majority whip in the House.

The prospect that Thornburgh might resign to run for the Senate in November has led to speculation that Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner, the former U.S. attorney for the northern district of Illinois, could move to the Justice Department to replace the attorney general.

Thornburgh`s department has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for lackluster performance, and his departure would offer the White House an opportunity to fill the post with a more aggressive appointee. Skinner, who has earned high marks in his two years in Washington, appears by virtue of his history and his disposition to be the logical choice.

If a Gray-Thornburgh showdown should materialize, it would set the nation`s chief law-enforcement official against a prominent Democrat who has gone up against him in the past. Gray blasted Thornburgh two years ago when a report of a Justice Department preliminary criminal investigation into Gray`s personnel practices was leaked to CBS News.

If elected or appointed on an interim basis, Gray, 49, would become the first black Democrat to sit in the U.S. Senate.

The tension between Gray and Thornburgh is rooted in Pennsylvania politics, but was aggravated by the 1989 incident. At the time, Gray was campaigning in the House for the No. 3 Democratic leadership post-which he subsequently won-and he suggested strongly that the leaks were politically and perhaps racially motivated.

Thornburgh adamantly denied those charges, but stated later that Gray was not the target of any investigation. The department conducted an internal investigation into the leak and subsequently reassigned two of Thornburgh`s top aides.

Although a Gray-Thornburgh contest is hardly a sure thing, ``It`s a race that has the possibility of changing the politics of this state,`` said Bill Green, a Philadelphia political consultant who worked for Heinz. ``With the personalities and the posts involved, it obviously has possibilities beyond the state as well.``

National Republicans crave a Thornburgh candidacy, figuring the former two-term governor has the best chance to hold the Pennsylvania seat at a time when the party is hoping to transform post-war euphoria into control of the Senate in 1992.

Currently, Democrats hold a 56-43 advantage in the Senate.

``Thornburgh is the 800-pound gorilla around here,`` one Pennsylvania Democrat acknowledged. ``Beating him would be an accomplishment.``

An aide to Gray acknowledged Tuesday that the congressman is weighing a run for the Senate seat in a special Nov. 5 election, assuming the state Democratic Party`s executive committee offers him the nomination. Gray is also proceeding on the assumption that Thornburgh will be the Republican nominee, the aide said.

If Gray makes the race this fall, he will not have to abandon his House seat, nor his leadership role, according to an aide to the House Democratic leadership.

``If he runs, Gray would have what amounts to a free shot at the Senate,`` the aide said. ``If he runs and loses, he comes back as whip.``

The political advantages for Thornburgh are clear as well. But in deference to the Heinz family, he, like Gray and Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey, have refrained from commenting publicly on the pending Senate race.

``I haven`t thought much about it,`` Thornburgh said in a brief telephone interview Tuesday. ``I`ve kind of deferred any thinking about it till the appropriate time.``

Heinz was killed in a plane crash last week; he was buried Wednesday.

Should he pursue the nomination, Thornburgh, 58, would return to a state where he served as a highly regarded governor, and would extricate himself from a sometimes-rocky tenure at the Justice Department.

Two years ago, it was widely believed that Thornburgh would revive a department adrift after the departure of Ronald Reagan`s attorney general, Edwin Meese III. Instead, Thornburgh found himself ensnared in bureaucratic snafus and political missteps.

Early appointments to top posts were rejected, and there were clashes with such administration officials as former drug czar William J. Bennett.

In February, a former top Thornburgh aide, Henry G. Barr, was convicted in Pennsylvania of using cocaine and lying about it to gain a security clearance for the Justice Department job.

There have also been times when Thornburgh appeared out of step with the Bush administration on such issues as the 1990 civil rights bill.

``It`s his only way out,`` a senior Democratic congressional staffer said of a Thornburgh race for the Senate. ``He`s had a disastrous run at Justice, and this provides a smooth and convenient exit. This is still a guy with national ambitions, despite what`s happened in the last two years.``

Thornburgh and his aides defend their tenure, citing an increase in the numbers of prosecutors around the country, progress in battling hate crimes and added funding to investigate the savings-and-loan debacle.

Casey, a Democrat, is expected-but not required-to appoint an interim replacement for Heinz, one who would likely function as a caretaker until a special election.

Under Pennsylvania`s system for special elections, there is no primary. Both candidates would seek endorsement by state party committees.

While Thornburgh would seem to have the Republican nomination for the asking, Gray might have a harder time. A number of prominent state Democrats, including U.S. Rep. John Murtha and Lt. Gov. Mark Singel, also are interested in pursuing the seat.

Singel had explored the possibility of challenging the state`s other Republican senator, Arlen Specter, who is seeking re-election next year.